Where is the professional development for mid career writers? - Alice Jolly
In most careers there is something called 'professional development.' This is the training offered to people who are who are already qualified and doing the job but who, nevertheless, need to refresh their skills, develop, focus on doing their existing job rather better. But if you are a published writer then what opportunities are there for professional development? The training opportunities for aspiring writers are, of course, many and various. I look back with a certain nostalgia to the time when I could take advantage of those opportunities. Courses through The Open College Of The Arts and The Arvon Foundation were cosy and comforting (photo below - actually me teaching at Arvon but the warm atmosphere is there). I made friends. We were all in the same situation - learning, hoping to get our work published, supporting each other as we developed. But now that I'm a published writer - what is there? Well, nothing much, as far as I know. Currently, this is a ...